Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting at Al-Hawiyyah Palace in Taif today.

The King opened the meeting by briefing the Cabinet on his recent meetings and consultations with world leaders and their envoys. Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz reviewed his visits to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, where he met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Crown Prince Sheikh Muhammad Al-Nahayyan of Abu Dhabi. The Crown Prince’s visits aimed to enhance close relations and solidify the Arab ranks.

The Cabinet also reviewed recent developments in some of the region’s hot spots. It emphasized the need to provide the appropriate conditions for Palestinian unity and continued support for the Arab Peace Initiative.

On Iraq, the Cabinet affirmed the importance of a national unity government acceptable to all Iraqis as the way for the country to pull itself out of its current crisis, both on a humanitarian and political level.

Turning to Sudan, the Cabinet expressed support for the Sudanese government’s efforts to end the crisis in Darfur in a way that maintains Sudan’s unity, sovereignty over its national resources and enhances its relations with neighboring countries.

Regarding terrorism, the Cabinet affirmed that dealing in terrorism, misleading youth into terrorism, sowing sectarian discord and destabilizing societies are destined to fail because they are contrary to peoples’ desire for security, stability and development.

The Cabinet issued a number of decisions, including: authorizing the Minister of Foreign Affairs to sign a UN agreement on the use of electronic communication in international contracts and approving a draft agreement on investment with Spain. It also reviewed a Ministry of Economy and Planning report on the implementation of development projects.